Taming the Dragon
by Adalia Peace
Summary: After graduating from Hogwarts, Ginny finds herself unable to decide what she wants to do with her life. A temporary position at the dragon keepers' compound where Charlie works just might help lead her in the right direction to decide her future.
1. Author's Note

**T_AMING __the _D_RAGON_:**

_**The Story of Ginny Weasley's Life After Hogwarts**_

by Adalia Peace

**Rated T**

**Friendship/Adventure**

**Ginny Weasley & Draco Malfoy**

**Author's Note**

Dear Reader,

This story takes place a few weeks after Ginevra Weasley's graduation from Hogwarts. The characters are probably a bit out of character, since it's been a while since I've read the books. I also apologize for any inconsistencies between my fanfiction and the events outlined in the books.

I have two warnings that I feel I should express here: First of all, **I am a Ginny/Draco shipper**. However, the second warning is that **this is not a Ginny/Draco romance fanfiction**.

If you enjoy this fanfic, I am planning a sequel to it that I may or may not write, depending on whether or not this one receives positive reviews. If you have questions, comments, suggestions, flames, etc., leave me a review and I will make an effort to respond to any and all (aside from flames, unless they're intelligent flames, which don't seem to crop up very often).

Yet another warning I feel I must issue is that I am American (woe is me), and since I have a limited knowledge of typical British slang, I've abandoned efforts to use it in this fanfic in favor of using what I know. Unfortunately that eliminates a little bit of the sense of authenticity, but it would be better for me to sacrifice that little bit of truth in favor of better writing.

One final note: I have long been in the process of attempting to write an original novel for publishing. If this fanfic gets reasonably good reviews, I may use parts of it as a base for my own book. Unfortunately for possible fans of this particular fic, I know from the fan's point of view that a publisher may force the deletion of it if parts of it are used in a published work (fans of Cassandra Clare's fanfiction series _The Draco Trilogy_ will know what I mean, since her publisher asked her to remove that trilogy from the Internet when parts of it were used in the admittedly ingenious _Mortal Instruments_ series, which, by the way, I highly recommend).

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy,

Adalia Peace


	2. Norbert's Daughter

**Chapter 1**

**Norbert's Daughter**

Ginny wasn't really sure what she wanted to do with her life after she graduated from Hogwarts. In fact, she'd never really been sure, despite constant queries from her parents, her three oldest brothers, and of course her teachers. All of the above were always so dismayed and astonished when she revealed her complete lack of knowledge about her future, especially since her grades had been good in her first two years at school and downright brilliant thereafter. She could, Professor McGonagall had once told her in confidence, easily have given Hermione Granger a run for her money.

Of course Ginny had an idea about what she enjoyed doing, but a few of her favored pastimes were not logical choices for her as a career. For instance, she very much liked to play Quidditch, but she was not nearly good enough to play professionally. She loved to write, but since most of what she wrote were journal entries and little tidbits that had to do with her own life, she felt they were too personal ever to publish, even if any company would agree to publish them. She was also very good at researching, and even took pleasure in it, but not enough pleasure to turn it into a career. She was, in short, quite lost as to what she wanted to do with herself.

After much prodding from her parents, even more consideration, and yet more internal arguing, Ginny finally wrote a letter to her favorite brother, Charlie, and asked him if she might be able to assist at the dragon compound where he worked until she could figure out what she wanted to do as a permanent job. She had always been very fond of dragons, and she thought perhaps she could at least enjoy herself in Romania while she was thinking about her future. Moreover, she'd already had a little experience with them, having helped the dragon handlers with their charges in her third year (not exactly a permitted activity, but having Charlie as her brother had its advantages), and she knew if Charlie would vouch for her, she would probably be taken in easily.

It barely took a week before Charlie's enthusiastic reply arrived on the leg of her owl (a seventeenth birthday gift from Bill and Fleur), and Ginny was packing her bags to ship off to Romania and care for one of the most dangerous, if not _the_ most dangerous, beasts known to wizardkind.

"The first thing you need to know," Charlie told her on the first day, "is that no dragon has ever been tamed. Experts say it's impossible, that a dragon's natural wild instinct is too strong to ever tame one, even one you raise from the egg. Our Norwegian Ridgeback, for example. Her father is Norbert, a Norwegian Ridgeback who was hatched from the egg by Hagrid."

"Hagrid, as in the Hogwarts groundskeeper?" Ginny asked, her curiosity peaked. Charlie glanced sideways at her as they went on toward the compound supervisor's office, and grinned.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Harry, Ron and Hermione were there when he hatched. I'm surprised none of them told you. Anyway, Hagrid won this egg from a dodgy guy in a pub, and he decided to hatch it himself and keep it. But when Norbert was born he was just as wild as any hatchling born with a feral mother, and eventually they convinced him to send Norbert off to me – you know, before he completely destroyed everything on the grounds and got Hagrid locked up to boot."

"What's the baby's name?" Ginny asked, more interested in the younger Ridgeback than in the story of her father.

"Her name is Ridge – creative, I know – but she's hardly a baby now," Charlie said, stopping a few yards away from the supervisor's room to finish their conversation. "She's a year old. She's not old enough to mate safely, though, since we do make them wait until they're totally matured at three years, so we've always got to be careful with her so she doesn't go off with one of the males."

"But people ride dragons," Ginny said suddenly, reverting to Charlie's claim that no dragon could be tamed and remembering that some people did indeed ride dragons. Charlie nodded.

"Yeah, they do," he said, "but that's not a sign of tameness. Dragons are very intelligent, you know, and a human can form a bond with one. Sometimes the bond goes deeply enough that the dragon will let a human ride it, even guide it. Most dragon riders talk it up, but many of them aren't the ones in control once the dragon takes off, they're simply on a joyride until they can coax it to land or it lands of its own accord."

"So, theoretically," Ginny said slowly, "I could tame Norbert's daughter – Ridge, I mean – and ride her once I was close enough to her." Charlie gave her a shocked glance.

"You might be able to get Mr. Lowers to let you care for Ridge," he said warningly, "but don't you even think of trying to bond with her enough to ride her. It's just not possible."

"Why isn't it possible?" Ginny demanded, automatically jumping to the conclusion that Charlie thought she was incapable. "Animals love me, I've tamed a thestral, and those are meant to be nearly impossible to tame as well. Why couldn't I do it?" Charlie sighed, shaking his head.

"Relax, Gin. I wasn't saying you're not capable of riding _a _dragon. I was saying you're not capable of riding _that_ dragon. Norwegian Ridgebacks are guarded at best. No dragon keeper has ever been able to bond deeply enough with a Ridgeback to ride it, and there was a famous keeper who worked on a Ridgeback for two solid years. The thing savaged him as soon as he dared climb onto its back."

"Maybe two years wasn't long enough," Ginny suggested. She was always looking for a challenge, and here was one right away, staring her in the face. "Maybe they're just more cautious than other dragons, so it takes longer for them to trust a human enough to let one ride them."

"Maybe," Charlie allowed, "but still, I wouldn't attempt it." His words fell on deaf ears. Ginny had been confronted with something supposedly impossible. Already her blood was rushing at the thought of a new goal she could work towards, and now all she needed to do was convince Mr. Lowers, the compound supervisor, to allow her to work with the Ridgeback alone. Perhaps with a great deal of hard work and affection, Ginny Weasley could go down in history as the first dragon keeper ever to ride a Norwegian Ridgeback. That would most definitely be something amazing.

To Charlie's dismay, Ginny convinced Mr. Lowers to allow her to be Ridge's caretaker within a matter of minutes. Charlie Weasley knew his sister, and he regretted saying "it's not possible" almost the second it was out of his mouth. Ginny would never, _ever_ back down from a challenge, and he could instantly tell by the expression on her face that she saw this as a challenge. Despite Charlie's pleadings with Lowers after he'd agreed to let Ginny take on the Ridgeback, the supervisor would not back down.

"You said the girl was capable," Lowers said. "I want to see how capable. Ridge isn't especially temperamental, but a Ridgeback is a good test of abilities. If she's capable, she can take on the Norwegian, and that's all there is to it."

"You don't understand, sir," Charlie begged. "I told Ginny that it's impossible for a human to ride a Ridgeback. Do you realize what I'm saying? She wants to try to prove herself by _riding Ridge_."

"That's all very well," Lowers said. "It won't do any harm for us to be the compound who trained the first keeper to ride one, for sure. I don't see why you're so against this, Weasley."

"But sir," Charlie said desperately, "she's my sister!"

"Of course she is," Lowers said, "which is why you'll be the one to train her. As long as you make it crystal clear to her that she is not to attempt to ride that dragon until she's completely positive that it'll let her, she should be perfectly fine. In any case, you know our training. If she attempts to mount the dragon and it turns to attack, she'll already know how to Apparate quickly without splinching herself, and if she freezes, every handler in this facility knows how to transport her themselves without touching her. With six hundred wands trained on her, I doubt Miss Weasley will have any trouble from Ridge, especially if she's smart about it."

Lowers leaned forward across his desk, fixing an intense gaze on Charlie. "Look, Weasley, I know you're concerned for your sister's welfare. But the bottom line is, she'll be well protected, we'll take every single precaution we can think of, and it _is_ possible. I believe a handler _can_ convince a Ridgeback to allow them to ride, and I believe your sister's talent with animals and the experience she'll gain here will help her be the one to prove that it's possible."

When Charlie made it to Ginny's quarters, she was shoving her possessions into drawers and cabinets and onto shelves with a ferocity that surprised him. He tapped on the doorway and cautiously entered. Ginny whirled around to face him, her eyes blazing fiery anger. "So?" she demanded.

"So what?" Charlie asked, trying and failing to sound innocent.

"Did you convince him not to let me near the Norwegian?" she snapped, and Charlie winced at the fury in her tone.

"No, I didn't, actually," Charlie said, "although I won't claim that I didn't try. He thinks it's possible to ride a Ridgeback, and he thinks you can do it. But please, Gin," Charlie pleaded, "please be careful. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you, knowing that I was the one who told you to come."

Ginny visibly relaxed at her brother's words, and Charlie let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. After what seemed like an eternity, she nodded. "You know I'll be careful, Charlie. And hey, we can even make this as fun for you as it's going to be for me!" she added, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"How can we do that?" he asked.

"You like to gamble," Ginny proclaimed, and held up a hand to silence him when he opened his mouth to protest. "Don't even try lying to me, Charles Weasley, I know you well enough to tell. You can't turn down a bet, but I will say that you're always responsible enough not to squander money when you know it's needed. But in any case, this particular gamble won't involve money."

"What do you have in mind?" Charlie asked. Ginny was telling the truth; she'd have known if he was lying anyway, and his interest was piqued now.

"I want you to give me three years to bond with Ridge and ride her," Ginny began. "That's a whole year longer than that famous keeper took to try, so she's bound to be tamer than his dragon was. If, at the end of three years, Ridge will let me ride her, you have to help me find a permanent job somewhere, even if I don't want to stay here."

"That's fair enough," Charlie said hesitantly.

"Name your terms," Ginny said. "If she doesn't let me ride her, what do I do?"

"If she won't let you ride her," Charlie said mischievously, "you have to refrain from taking on any challenges, dares, or anything of the sort for at least a year."

"Oh, that sucks," Ginny said. Charlie smirked. Then, Ginny continued, "Why did you look all worried when I said you had to help me find a job?"

"Well," Charlie said, "you said 'even if I don't want to stay here.' If you bond with Ridge deeply enough to ride her, she might react badly if you _don't_ stay here."

"I've already thought that through," Ginny explained. "By the time three years is over, Ridge'll be old enough to mate. Then you guys can introduce her to a mate and she'll transfer her affections to him. See?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Charlie said consideringly. "That makes sense."

"So," Ginny said, "is it a bet?" She held out her hand. After a moment, Charlie shook it.

"It's a bet."


	3. The Assistant

**Chapter 2**

**The Assistant**

_One Year Later..._

"How's Ridge doing?"

It was the question that had ended every work day since Ginny had begun at the compound, and by now she was quite used to it. The answers varied, but not by too much. What put Ginny on guard on this particular day, almost exactly a year since she'd starter working with the Ridgeback, was the tone in Charlie's voice when he asked it. Temporarily putting her concern aside, Ginny answered truthfully.

"She's fine," she said, "although I've had to keep her away from Les all day." Les was some breed of Chinese dragon, a strong young male who kept making passes and trying to engage Ridge in a mating flight. Charlie chuckled.

"That'll happen," he said. "She's of mating age in the wild now, but here of course they don't have to worry about population upkeep and the like. It's much safer to make them wait until they're fully grown."

"I thought dragons never stopped growing," Ginny commented.

"That's true, but they're still called 'full-grown' when they reach a mature size," Charlie explained. "The optimum age for a dragon to begin breeding is at three years, give or take a few months depending on the breed, so they're considered adults when they hit that age."

"I see," Ginny said. She considered her words carefully before changing the subject. "So, are you going to tell me what's on your mind?" she asked. Charlie sighed, flopping down onto the sofa in her quarters, and avoided her gaze.

"We have a new assistant coming to the compound," he said hesitantly. "He's an expert, to say the least. He's done things with dragons no keeper has ever dared to do before – aside from riding a Ridgeback, of course," Charlie added pointedly.

"Anyway, I'm really hoping he's not going to cause any problems, but..."

"But what?" Ginny prompted.

"Well, you know him," Charlie said evasively. Ginny stood in front of him and crossed her arms, giving him a stern look that made her look uncannily like their mother.

"I'm waiting," she said.

"It's Draco Malfoy," Charlie admitted. Before Ginny could say anything, he added quickly, "But he really is good, Gin. I've seen him with a dragon before, and he's the best there is."

"Oh, Merlin, Charlie," Ginny said, relieved. "You really thought that would set me off?"

"Well, I know you went to school with him and all," Charlie began.

"It was Ron and Harry that had problems with him directly, not me," Ginny said. "I know we're supposed to hate him because of that whole family history ordeal, but I haven't seen Malfoy since the end of the war. Harry told me that Malfoy almost changed sides once, although nobody knows what prevented him from doing it."

"The story is that he was afraid of his father," Charlie said, "and I'm inclined to believe it. I've met him a couple times and he seems like a decent enough guy. In any case, he was cleared of all charges against him, so it's not as if he never proved his innocence. By the time his trial rolled around, his family name meant dirt to the Ministry and it certainly wouldn't have protected him if there was enough to convict him."

"Dumbledore had faith in him," Ginny pointed out. "Harry said Dumbledore tried to convince Malfoy to switch sides right when Malfoy was meant to be killing him."

"He was meant to be killing who?" Charlie asked, reminding Ginny that the original plan for Dumbledore's murder was not common knowledge.

"Dumbledore," she explained. "Voldemort wanted Malfoy to do it, but Malfoy couldn't, so Snape did it instead. From what Harry told us when it was all over, Dumbledore asked Snape to do it if Malfoy didn't. He was trying to protect Malfoy. And Snape even took the Unbreakable Vow with Malfoy's mother to protect him and to do the deed if Malfoy couldn't."

"I see," was all Charlie said.

"Harry found a lot of this stuff out before he got Voldemort," Ginny said. "He only told everybody else – well, you know, his close friends anyway – after it was all done with."

The subject exhausted, Ginny and Charlie sat in silence for a while. The silence was interrupted at last by a tapping at Ginny's door that revealed to be one of their coworkers, Lance Jemmings. Ginny gestured him to come inside, and the brunette man barely a year older than Ginny entered, looking excited to say the least.

"Draco Malfoy is here," he announced, "and he's going to give a speech for all of us. Mr. Lowers told me he's going to work with us. Can you believe it? Draco Malfoy is going to work with us!"

"Yes, Jemmings, we know," Charlie said impatiently. Then he looked at Ginny and shrugged. "A speech, huh? Well, we better go on then." Ginny sighed – she'd wanted to relax for a while after a day of hard work – but nevertheless she rose from the couch and followed Charlie and Jemmings to the common area where Mr. Lowers usually made important announcements, gave general instructions and the like.

"First and foremost, I want to thank Mr. Lowers and this entire facility for allowing me the opportunity to work with you all." Malfoy's speech began courteously enough, but despite the fact that she'd never held any personal grudge against her, Ginny was hesitant to accept what she knew could be a polite facade. "I've heard many reports about this very compound from friends and colleagues, and all of them have said the same thing – this facility is simply the best," Malfoy went on. "I'm sure you all can understand that while I will very much enjoy working here, my ultimate goal is to further my career, and I hope you all will welcome me."

When Malfoy stepped back from the microphone, Ginny was surprised. She'd thought he was going to deliver a long, thought-out speech, perhaps with more kissing up and less straightforwardness, but obviously Malfoy thought what he'd said was sufficient. Mr. Lowers stood up and took over the podium.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, and I would like to extend to you a formal welcome from everybody here." There followed one of Lowers' famous drawn-out speeches in which he repeated himself numerous times, and Ginny rolled her eyes and focused instead on the subject of the speech.

Draco Malfoy had definitely matured, and Ginny privately thought his work had helped more than a little. He was clearly toned, and he was certainly handsome, but something about him put Ginny on guard. He still seemed to have that arrogant, forever-bored expression on his face, and he was definitely still an aristocrat through and through. This, coupled with his short speech, made Ginny think that perhaps Malfoy still believed himself to be above every single person in the common area. Nonetheless, Charlie had said he was good, and she decided it would be downright unreasonable not to give him a chance.

As Ginny was thinking these thoughts, Malfoy's eyes roved over the crowd. They landed directly on her, and if Ginny wasn't mistaken, she thought she saw a spark in his eyes. Was it anger? Amusement? Perhaps he was already plotting to take her down? She hoped not. If she was going to prove herself as a dragon keeper, it would be a blow to her reputation to have Malfoy up against her, even if he was an insufferable little earwig. Not that the community of dragon keepers that held him in such high regard would ever believe that he _was_, but that wouldn't stop her from thinking so if he proved it to be true.

Once Lowers had finally droned on enough that he shut up, Ginny was exhausted, and she figured nearly every person in the compound was probably just as tired. They'd all put in a full day's work, and a full day's work with a dragon was akin to a full week's work in any other position. As soon as they were dismissed, Ginny tugged on Charlie's sleeve to make sure he knew she was leaving, and then she began to make her way back to her quarters. On the walk there, she decided to simply ignore Malfoy and hope he wouldn't have the nerve to seek her out for any reason. She was sure the abundance of dragons here would be more than enough to occupy his time, if that was what he was looking for.


	4. Competition

**Chapter 3**

**Competition**

Ginny managed to avoid Malfoy for several weeks following his arrival at the compound. She counted herself lucky, since the chatter she'd overheard while getting her meals revealed to her that he'd been to just about every dragon pen since he'd arrived there. Fortunately, she wasn't forced to retrieve her food and eat it in her room to avoid him, since evidently Malfoy had his meals delivered to his room, just like the important celebrity he apparently was.

"You should talk to him," Charlie said one day, about three weeks after Malfoy had shown up. "He's really not so bad."

"I didn't say he was," Ginny said testily. "I'm just trying to gain Ridge's affection, and it's hard to do that when you're always off socializing." Charlie dropped the subject, knowing his sister was far from the social butterfly, and Ginny savored the silence that accompanied the rest of dinner.

Once she'd finished eating, Ginny made her way back to her quarters to put away her laundry, and then went on to visit Ridge in her pen before the dragon's evening meal. When Ginny arrived at the doorway to the pen, however, what she saw made her stop dead in her tracks.

Malfoy was inside.

He was sitting quite comfortably on the edge of Ridge's stone water trough, conversing with the dragon in friendly tones. Ridge was responding, too, and that was what made Ginny's blood boil. She'd been working on that dragon for over a year now, and if Malfoy won her affection before Ginny did, there would be hell to pay. Unable to keep her temper from rising, Ginny stalked into the pen and stood before Malfoy, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"And just what do you think _you're_ doing here?" she demanded. Malfoy looked at her, a smile playing faintly around his lips and amusement making his silver eyes dance.

"I'm acquainting myself with your charge, Miss Weasley," he responded easily, unfazed by her obvious irritation. "Is that a problem?"

"You're damn right it's a problem," Ginny snapped. "I'm trying to accomplish something with this dragon, Malfoy, and if you even _think_ about getting in the way, I swear I'll -"

"I know you're trying to accomplish something," Malfoy cut her off smoothly. "Lowers told me that much, although he wouldn't say what it was. Why don't you tell me right now, and _I_ can determine whether or not my getting to know Ridge will affect it at all?"

"That's none of your business," Ginny said fiercely. "Just stay away from her, Malfoy."

"I believe I am allowed to tend any dragon I wish to tend," Malfoy said, his tone still calm and collected, which only made Ginny angrier. "If you wish, I'll go to Lowers myself and have him confirm that for you."

"That's a line you don't want to cross, Malfoy," Ginny said angrily. "Just get the hell out of here if you know what's good for you."

"All right," Malfoy said, and for a moment Ginny was surprised that it had been that easy. But when Malfoy reached the doorway of Ridge's pen, he stopped and added, "I'll go talk to Lowers then," and he was gone before the stray brick Ginny threw at him could hit its mark.

After Ridge had consumed the equivalent of two and a half fully-grown bulls, Ginny was paid a visit by Mr. Lowers, who looked stern. Her heart sank as soon as she saw him, for she knew that not only had Malfoy gone to see him, but she also knew that Malfoy had gotten his way.

"Miss Weasley," Lowers began, and Ginny's gaze shifted. Of course Malfoy had come to see Ginny put in her place. Why wouldn't he? He stood behind Lowers, his arms crossed over his chest, but he wasn't looking at her. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground a few feet in front of him, and refused to meet Ginny's gaze.

"Mr. Malfoy is doing us a favor," Lowers continued, "and it is up to us to ensure that he is comfortable, feels accepted, and is allowed to participate in the care of any creature in our care. That is _every_ dragon, Miss Weasley, not only the ones whose keepers aren't trying anything spectacular with them. If he wishes to tend to Ridge, you will allow him to do so within reason. Obviously you have reason to protest if Mr. Malfoy suddenly takes over much of Ridge's care, but at the present moment I think you need to step down and allow Mr. Malfoy to do his job."

"Yes, sir," responded Ginny, who knew better than to argue with Lowers, and didn't particularly want to show her irritation in front of the man who'd caused it – namely Malfoy. "I understand," she added for good measure.

Mr. Lowers turned to leave, and Ginny fully expected Malfoy to enter the dragon pen and gloat once the supervisor had gone, but she did not expect what happened. Rather than stick around to brag, Malfoy turned and left when Lowers did.

* * *

><p><strong>Moonshaddow17:<strong> Thanks a lot. I've always written romance fanfictions and while the sequel (if I write it) to this one has a possibility of romance, I've always grown tired of writing my fics in the past. I don't foresee that happening with this one.

**Dracoginnylover24: **I hope you're not too disappointed that this particular fanfiction isn't planned as a romance, but the sequel I've planned may be, and this one IS between Draco and Ginny. I'm a Draco/Ginny fan myself, unfortunately I've always completely failed to write a non-cookie-cutter DG fic, (which is why I've never posted any) so I'm going in a different direction with this one. Thanks a lot for reading!


	5. A Different Kind of Dragon

**Chapter 4**

**A Different Kind of Dragon**

Ginny fumed for a while after her scolding at Lower's hands, but the following day she resolved to show Ridge more than ever how trustworthy she was. She hoped that her attempts would negate any attempts Malfoy might make to turn her charge against her. Ginny began showing up early for Ridge's meals so that the food was already there when the dragon wanted it. She also began brushing the Norwegian with extra care, bathing her every day instead of the required every other day, and allowing her to fly for six to eight hours a day rather than the necessary four. She almost wished that Ridge was old enough to safely breed, however, since she did still need to keep her charge away from the flirtatious young males that descended on her whenever she took to the skies.

Ginny was disappointed, but not surprised, when she returned from lunch a few days after Lower's scolding to find Malfoy in Ridge's pen, brushing away the insignificant amounts of dust that had gathered beneath the scales on the dragon's neck. Forcing down her irritation, Ginny went to Ridge's water trough to refill it, waving her wand over it once to create the water and once more to purify it. She decided she would simply ignore Malfoy's existence, although now she was beginning to get curious.

What exactly was Malfoy up to?

Over the next couple of months, Ginny found Malfoy in Ridge's pen at least once a day, although he never took on enough responsibility that she could reasonably complain to Lowers. He was simply _there_, and she got the feeling that he knew his mere presence was enough to make her want to snap. Even so, she ignored him as best as she could, since to get on his bad side would be to effectively seal her fate in terms of dragon keeping.

Spending the small amounts of time around Malfoy that she now did revealed to Ginny that he was almost nothing like the arrogant, snobby little boy she'd known in school. Still, his constant efforts to get on her nerves made her wonder what exactly he was up to. Was he perhaps trying to make her slip up and go off on him so that he would have just cause to ruin her? Or was he simply that much of a spoiled brat that he was going to get what he wanted and then wave it in her face to rub it in? Ginny wasn't sure, but she made it her mission (well, her secondary mission) to find out.

Ginny wouldn't give up her previously set goal of getting Ridge to trust her enough to ride, but she also wanted to find out, quite simply, what Malfoy's deal was. Why was he going to such trouble to annoy her? She was sure she could use the time when Malfoy was with Ridge to figure out what made the former Slytherin tick, and why, specifically, irritating her was one of those things. She knew numerous other females in the compound, and a person had to be a fool not to know how much women enjoyed gossip. She figured it would be almost too easy to figure Malfoy out.

During the times when Malfoy was caring for Ridge, Ginny began to get the other female workers in the compound to warm up to her. None of them held any animosity towards her, but they knew she'd never been much of a socialite before now, so they were a bit hesitant to take her in at first. Nonetheless, once Ginny had convinced them that she wasn't some diseased parasite, they accepted her readily enough and she found herself with a very useful circle of knowledge.

Ginny committed herself to hanging out with her new friends – Andrea Morgan, Penny Julian and Karissa Lakes – for six full weeks before she brought up Malfoy as a topic of conversation, and then she broached the subject innocently enough.

"So," she began, "what do you all think of Malfoy?" She prepared herself mentally to listen to Karissa and Penny's gushing about his looks, but what she was really looking for was Andrea's opinion. Andrea was intelligent and wasn't likely to give herself over to mindless raving about the newest member of the compound.

As she expected, Andrea kept silent while Karissa and Penny went on and on about how beautiful Malfoy's hair was, how intense his eyes were, and so on. Finally, when their babble wore off, Andrea spoke. Ginny listened intently.

"I think he's a good guy," Andrea said, "but he seems too distant from everything. I mean, not just the people here, but the dragons too. He's good, but he'll never get very far if he doesn't open himself up to a bond with a dragon. No self-respecting handler will hire him if he's never bonded with a charge before."

"I never thought of that," Karissa said thoughtfully.

"Of course you didn't," Penny said, her tone one of understanding, "he's hot." She then giggled, something that always annoyed Ginny. They weren't in school anymore, yet Penny spent entirely too much time giggling like a schoolgirl with her first crush.

"Well, we'll see," Andrea said, "but he's going to have to open up if he ever wants to go anywhere with his career. He's made it this far on skill alone, but just skill isn't going to help him much to go beyond where he is now."

"I see your point," Ginny put in, although she didn't. Malfoy had certainly seemed open enough to Ridge, but she privately wondered if that wasn't just because he knew it would annoy her if he bonded with her charge.

"He's been spending a lot of time in Ridge's pen," Karissa pointed out, looking at Ginny. "Haven't you talked to him yourself?"

"No," Ginny admitted. "I never have time to do anything, so when he's in there taking care of Ridge, I come and hang out with you guys." All three girls nodded their understanding, probably thinking that Ginny was just as hungry for gossip as they were – which, of course, she was, but in her case it was only a certain type of gossip.

"Well, I have to get back to Ridge," Ginny said finally, standing up and giving the three other girls and friendly smile. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

"See you, Ginny," her friends chorused, and Ginny left to make her way back to Ridge's pen. She liked to chat to the dragon for a while before dinner, and she and Malfoy had fallen into a silently-agreed schedule. Malfoy would visit Ridge's pen before lunch to feed her the noon meal, and then after lunch for an hour or so just to brush her down and talk to her. Ginny would leave the pen just as Malfoy was coming in, and Malfoy would leave whenever Ginny showed up after lunch. One day, Ginny had even tested him by staying gone for four hours after lunch, and Malfoy had been feeding Ridge her evening meal when Ginny had finally turned up. That had actually impressed Ginny, his commitment to the dragon being strong enough that he would make sure she wasn't alone while Ginny took her time getting back.

Ginny returned to Ridge's pen to find Malfoy there, as usual. He was leaning his head against the base of the dragon's long neck, his hand stroking the scales where her neck and shoulder met. Ridge had her eyes closed and was listening as Malfoy talked to her, mumbling quietly enough that Ginny couldn't hear him, but Ridge could. Dragons' ears were quite strong.

Malfoy raised his head when Ginny entered, and Ginny couldn't help but notice that his eyes were red, as if he was severely sleep-deprived or... as if he had been crying. His eyes were dry now, so Ginny was spared the courtesy of asking him what was wrong, and she chose to tell herself that some of the sand covering the floor of the pen had perhaps gotten into his eyes.

As Ginny made her way to Ridge's water trough to refill and purify it, Malfoy stood up and went to the doorway as usual. What was different was that he stopped there, turned and looked at her for a long moment, and finally spoke. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, so quietly that Ginny thought she might have imagined it, and then he was gone.

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><p><strong>Thanks to all reviewers. I'm sorry if I don't respond personally to all of them, but my mind gets muddled up in my email inbox and sometimes I miss them. For example, I'm almost positive I received a review in my email yesterday, but today I can't seem to find it... and I'd feel rather stupid responding to a review I may possibly have dreamed up. XD Hope you keep reading!<strong>


	6. Family Flood

**Chapter 5**

**Family Flood**

She'd known it was going to happen eventually, although when it had taken so long in coming, she'd hoped perhaps she'd dodged a bullet. Nevertheless, Ginny wasn't surprised at all when one day she suddenly received eight letters in the same morning. Sighing, she shuffled through them, confirming her suspicions that they were all from her family, Hermione and Harry. She'd suspected this possibility the moment Charlie had told her that Draco Malfoy would be working alongside them.

Mentally preparing herself for the worst, Ginny opened Ron's letter first.

_Dear Ginny,_

_ I heard that Malfoy is working at that place where you and Charlie work. I just thought I should write and let you know that even though his charges were all dropped, I don't think the idiot's trustworthy at all and I think you should rip his head off the first chance you get._

_ Write back and let me know how you're doing._

_Love,_

_Ron_

Ginny smiled slightly at the thought of how much self-control it probably took for Ron to _not_ demand her immediate return to the Burrow, and moved on to Hermione's letter.

_Dear Ginny,_

_ I know Ron's probably going to tell you to use an Unforgivable Curse on Malfoy, but I'm hoping my lecture before he wrote to you might have deterred him just a little. In any case, I trust the Ministry's judgment (now that it's not being run by a load of corrupt fools, that is) and I think you should give Malfoy a chance. Maybe you guys will never be friends, but that's no reason to not be civil toward each other, especially since you obviously have at least one common interest._

_Love from,_

_Hermione_

Leave it to Hermione to be the reasonable one, but also the one who thought everybody deserved a second chance. In Ginny's seventh year, when they'd returned to Hogwarts to finish their own schooling, it had finally come out that she'd been the one who had opened the Chamber of Secrets in her first year. Hermione had been the one, calm and rational as always, to publicly point out that Ginny had been possessed, had not done it of her own free will, and that anybody who was seriously blaming an eleven-year-old girl for such heinous acts as the basilisk had committed was a moron.

Shaking her head at Hermione's ever-unwavering personality, Ginny moved on to the next letter, and the next. Percy, Bill and her father were all about as rational as Hermione, telling her that the Ministry was right to acquit Malfoy and she might consider giving him a chance. Her mother was concerned and simply cautioned her to be careful if she forged any kind of a friendship with Malfoy. George insisted that she should buy an item or two from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to use on him. Finally, she encountered Harry's letter, at the bottom of the pile.

_Gin,_

_ I know it's not really my place to tell you what you should and shouldn't do. I just figured I would warn you, but be reasonable at the same time, since I know Hermione and Ron will both take extremes (although I don't know about everybody else)._

_ Malfoy was cleared of his charges; you know that. But you also know how much trouble he gave Ron, Hermione and I during our school years. I'm not one to hold petty grudges, but I am going to say that there's a chance that particular part of his personality was a lasting part, and perhaps he really is an arrogant little prick. All I'm asking is for you to be cautious._

_ Still, I think you should give him a chance. You don't have to be his best friend, but he might not be so bad as he always was in school. Maybe you two could get along._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry_

Ginny had to fight the urge to roll her eyes at Harry's letter. True, he'd admitted that it wasn't his place to give her orders. But then, of course, he'd gone on and done it anyway – just in a calmer, I'm-making-a-request kind of tone. However, despite Ginny's misgivings about the honesty of Harry's advice, it seemed to be sound advice. The only problem was that Ginny was _already_ having issues with Malfoy, of course.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks again to all reviewers! I'm still having problems with my email inbox and for some reason review alerts are disappearing. No idea. Anyway, since this chapter almost solely consisted of letters and it was insanely short, I'm posting Chapter 6 right now as well. Enjoy!<strong>


	7. It's Not Over

**Chapter 6**

**It's Not Over**

In between listening to the compound's gossip while Malfoy spent time with Ridge, spending time with Ridge herself, and meals, Ginny didn't think of Malfoy's strange actions again for another week. When she finally did, the thought was quickly pushed from her mind, because it was when Malfoy confronted her about her reluctance to let any other handler near her charge.

"What's going on, Weasley?" he asked that afternoon when she'd returned from lunch. Ginny turned, surprised he'd even spoken to her, and raised a questioning eyebrow in response. Malfoy elaborated. "You don't want me near her," he said, gesturing toward the shimmering creature beside him, "yet you're not attacking me at every turn, so I don't think it's only because of who I am." It was the closest either of them had come to speaking about their past knowledge of each other, and Ginny found the subject a little uncomfortable. It wasn't every day that someone referred to how your entire family used to hate him.

"I don't want anybody to mess up what I'm trying to do," Ginny said shortly, "and neither does Lowers, so I'm surprised he said you were still allowed here. You could ruin everything." She didn't particularly want to divulge to Malfoy what exactly she hoped to accomplish with the Ridgeback, and she hoped that he wouldn't ask. But of course he did.

"What are you trying to do?"

"That's none of your business, Malfoy," Ginny snapped, heat flushing to her face as she became instantly angry at his butting in where he didn't belong. She stroked Ridge's scales with the brush in her hand, avoiding eye contact. Ginny had never been good at reining in her temper.

"Maybe if it's something I can help with," Malfoy began, but Ginny immediately cut him off.

"It's not, so back off!"

"How do you know that?" Malfoy demanded, and Ginny suspected he was getting angry as well. "You've handled dragons for what, a year and a half? You don't know as much as you might need to. You're just being stubborn, and being stubborn when it's a dragon you're caring for is downright dangerous, sometimes deadly."

"Go stick your nose into someone else's business," Ginny said, her voice rising. Ridge twitched beneath Ginny's ministrations, but the dragon's keeper couldn't force herself to be calm.

"Did you ever consider that I know more about this than you do?" Malfoy asked, his voice rising slightly as well, and Ginny bristled as his presumption that _he_ could handle Ridge better than she could. "I've been doing this since I left Hogwarts, and maybe if it's something I think my presence actually _would_ interfere with, maybe I _would_ go stick my nose into someone else's business, did you ever think of _that_?"

Ginny calmed. No, she hadn't thought of that, and her expression told Malfoy as much. Glaring at her, he turned to leave. Ginny took a deep breath and called out to stop him. "Malfoy, wait." He turned back.

"What now?" he asked irritably.

"I..." Ginny paused, thinking back to the letters her family had sent her. Most of them _had _told her she should give Malfoy a chance, so she took the risk. "I'm sorry," she said, "and what I'm trying to do... I'm trying to ride her." She looked up at the magnificent creature towering over them both. Ridge had calmed down when Ginny had and was now leaning into the brush Ginny was still circling over her scales.

"Ride her?" Malfoy said, and for one awful moment Ginny thought he was going to laugh. "Well," he said, considering, "I won't say it's impossible, because I'm sure everybody who knows has already told you that. Besides, I don't think it is."

"You don't?" Ginny asked, surprised.

"No, I don't," Malfoy said firmly. "I think the keepers who have tried it in the past were simply not committed enough. Dragons know when you care and they know when you don't. Any fool can forge some kind of bond with a dragon, but it takes a true relationship with a charge to be able to ride one. Most dragons are less complex than a Ridgeback, emotionally speaking." Malfoy was in his element now, and Ginny held on to every word he spoke.

"The Norwegian Ridgeback has always been known as one of the most dangerous dragon species in existence," Malfoy said, sounding for all the world as if he was teaching a student new to the concept of dragons. "Some experts even say they are second only to the Hungarian Horntail, but even a Horntail isn't as in tune with a beloved trainer's feelings as a Ridgeback is. Forgive me for saying so, but I've always considered the Ridgeback to be like the typical female of dragons."

Ginny laughed. "I don't mind. Girls do tend to be rather emotional."

"Exactly," Malfoy said. "Ridgebacks are very in tune to their handlers' emotions, and if you don't really care about them, they'll know. They may still form some sort of bond with a distant caretaker, but it won't be a strong enough bond for them to allow any special treatments." He looked up at Ridge, whose deep golden eyes were focused on him quite as if she understood every word he spoke. The dragon lowered its head into his hair, and Ginny laughed again as Ridge rubbed her snout up against Malfoy, reminiscent of a cat asking to be stroked. Malfoy smiled, an unfamiliar expression on his face to someone who'd only ever seen him smirk, and reached up to run his hands over the more leathery skin on the dragon's snout.

"In any case," Malfoy continued, "I think what it'll take to ride a Ridgeback is a determined handler with true affection for their charge, and I don't believe anybody who's ever attempted to ride one has had that. They've always just been focused on the recognition they'd receive if they succeeded."

After considering for a moment, Ginny said, "I really care about Ridge. At first, I planned to go back home if I didn't succeed, and at first it _was_ only a challenge to me. But I don't know if I could leave, even if I failed. I've grown attached."

"That's probably a good thing," Malfoy said, "I mean, you not wanting to leave her. She might become impossible to handle if you formed a close bond with her and then just left, and then they'd have to put her down. A dragon that can't be handled is deadly at best." Ridge twisted around to look at Ginny, disrupting Malfoy's absentminded stroking, and Ginny abandoned the brush in favor of taking up where Malfoy left off.

The conversation having reached a lull, Ginny considered Malfoy's words. He was right, of course; he knew much more about dragons than she did, and probably could easily have taken up this challenge himself. That thought stilled her hand when it occurred, and she turned again to Malfoy, now suspicious of his intentions.

"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish by handling her?" she asked, trying her best to keep her tone curious rather than accusing.

"I like Ridgebacks," was Malfoy's simple reply.

"You don't honestly expect me to believe that," Ginny said. It wasn't a question. "You're paying special attention to her. I want to know why."

"Truthfully, I'm not trying anything," Malfoy insisted.

"Stop lying," Ginny said, now convinced that Malfoy was indeed going to try something, "and tell me why you're so focused on her. There are at least two hundred dragons in this compound, yet Ridge is the only one you visit every single day."

"I've always been fond of Ridgebacks," Malfoy defended, "and this one happens to be the only one in this compound."

"Stay away from her," Ginny said.

"I can help you," Malfoy replied. "I can help you do what you're trying to do, I know I can."

"I don't want or need your help, Malfoy," Ginny said, irate once more. "Just leave me alone, and leave her alone. You're up to something and I'll figure out what it is." With that, Ginny gave Ridge one last pat in an effort to reassure her, and then she left, hoping Malfoy would be gone when she returned.


End file.
